The Pennsylvania Department of Education’s Office of Environment and
Ecology, Northeast Sustainable energy Association, Sustainable Development Fund and a core of Pennsylvania teachers developed a curriculum to be used in Grades Five through Eight.

This curriculum examines the environmental and scientific concepts of energy sources, forms, transformations, efficiency and heat transfer. Students experiment with electric generators powered by wind, water and light. They also conduct tests heating model buildings with different types of insulation (thermal and radiant barriers) and sealing leaks.

By applying system concepts of goals, inputs, processes, outputs and feedback, students propose energy improvements at home and compose an action plan at school that could, if implemented, reduce the unwanted side effects of the school’s current energy use.

Construction guides for instructors to development classroom experimentsand energy demonstrations is included in each unit. Assessment rubrics and expected student responses to worksheet and classroom activities are supplies as well.

A DVD was developed for the curriculum by GreenTrex that introduces the alternate energy concepts and then looks at real life examples of each type ofalternate energy and how it is being used in Pennsylvania.

                ENERGY THINKING ALTERNATE ENERGY CURRICULUM GUIDE (PDF)